1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to containers and, more particularly, pertains to containers having separate compartments in which at least two materials may be stored separately and then may be combined when it is desired to mix them.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many drugs, dyes, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, nutrients, herbs, flavorings, and other chemicals are frequently supplied in powder, granule, tablet, or crystal form and do not retain their stability, strength and effectiveness for long after they have been mixed in solution or suspension, a condition frequently necessary for their administration or other use. It is also important that admixtures of various chemicals be done under conditions wherein a measured amount of one chemical be added to a measured amount of the other chemical to insure that proper results are obtained with a minimum of waste.
For example, some vitamins are combined with an effervescent agent and added to liquid immediately prior to use in order to retain the effectiveness of the vitamins. If the vitamins were mixed with liquid and were not consumed within a short period of time, the vitamins would deteriorate and would be less effective after an extended storage period.
There are many other examples of materials or substances which have an extended shelf life when not mixed, but which must be utilized relatively soon after mixture to prevent deterioration. Various cosmetics, medications, hair dyes, pigments, epoxy adhesives, polishes, cleansing solutions and the like have the foregoing characteristics. For example, conventional hair dyes employ a base material with which a pigmented material or solution is mixed for immediate application on the hair. If the pigmented material is mixed with the base and allowed to stand, the mixture may rapidly deteriorate and thus become unusable.
Many products are, by their very nature, required to be used by the consumer shortly after their manufacture as they lose certain desirable characteristics within a short period of time. Yet, the product can be stored for extended periods of time if a reactive compound thereof is maintained separate from the base compound. In such case, the two compounds may be mixed together to form the desired product shortly before use. In marketing such goods, it is desirable that the reactive compound and the base compound be sold as part of the same package. From an aesthetic as well as a handling standpoint, it is desirable that a single package be utilized for maintaining such compounds separately.
For example, in the chemical, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries it is often necessary to separately store two products which are not to be mixed until just before the resulting mixture is to be used because the properties of that mixture are not acceptable for the application envisaged except at the moment at which the mixture is formed. The stability of the mixture, for example, is a property which may vary in the course of time and may therefore have values which are most efficacious at the time the mixture is formed.
Another important field of use for containers of this type lies in the storage of foodstuffs and particularly beverages. Thus, a new flavoring, nutrient, additive, etc. constituted of dry ingredients, and being in the form of granular material, or a powder may have been developed for carbonated beverages which has significant potential consumer appeal in comparison with existing products, with the beverage, however, having a limited shelf life after the flavoring is mixed with the liquid or carbonated water present in the container. The flavoring has a lengthier shelf life when maintained in a dry condition and separate from the water or liquid, and with the product being more flavorful, nutrient, additive, etc. and marketable when stored in a container which maintains the flavoring and carbonated water in separate compartments and inaccessible to each other until opening of the container for the purpose of dispensing the beverage.
Many different types of packages have been designed having two compartments to enable product components to be kept separate until use. For example, see U.S. application Ser. No. 09/775,486, filed Feb. 1, 2001, which is a divisional application of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/598,792, filed Jun. 21, 2000, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,718 20 on Apr. 3, 2001, which is a divisional application of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/949,465, filed Oct. 14, 1997, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,105,760 on Aug. 22, 2000; U.S. application Ser. No. 09/592,217, which is a divisional application of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/265,453, filed Mar. 10, 1999, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,098,795 on Aug. 8, 2000, which is also a continuation-in-part application of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/949,465, filed Oct. 14, 1997; and U.S. application Ser. No. 10/995,700, filed Nov. 23, 2004, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein for all purposes.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,098,795 discloses a device that may be used for adding a selected first component to a second component that is in a main package, which device keeps the first component from the second component until a selected time before use. The device includes a delivery package which is mountable on the outside surface of the main package, and has a delivery opening, a control opening, and a cavity extending between the delivery opening and the control opening. When there is a first component, a compartment that contains this component is mounted inside the cavity so that it seals the delivery opening with a puncturable seal. A puncturer controllable by a user through the control opening is used for cutting through the compartment, including the puncturable seal, and the package to which the delivery package is mounted to release the first component into the main package at the selected time. This invention requires several moving parts that must be connected together and requires the user to take several actions to combine the ingredients. Also, the puncturable seal, if not fully punctured, may not fully deliver the first component as it may get stuck to the edges of the seal. Finally, any part of the punctured seal may become detached and constitute a hindrance to the good flow of products or of the mixture either as regards the communication between the two containers, or as regards the orifice allowing the mixture to be dispensed to the exterior.
In another reference, U.S. Pat. No. 6,474,861, which is incorporated by reference herein, discloses a device for mixing at least two products. The invention includes a first container containing a first product, and a second container containing a second product, the first and second containers being separated in sealed fashion by a removable stopper, the mixing device further comprising a flexible finger coupled to an operating member and capable, in response to actuation of the operating member, of engaging the stopper and flexing elastically into a position of abutment against a stop borne by the stopper, the flexible finger in this abutment position forming a buttress-like prop capable of moving the stopper so as to allow the first and second products to be mixed. This invention also requires several moving parts that must be connected together and requires the user to take several actions to combine the ingredients. Also, the stopper once detached still constitutes a hindrance to the good flow of products or of the mixture either as regards the communication between the two containers, or as regards the orifice allowing the mixture to be dispensed to the exterior.
Furthermore, the types of structures used for many prior two-compartment containers are complicated and often subject to higher manufacture costs and additional assembly time. Many prior art containers also require the user to execute additional actions, such as pushing down on a pushbutton, in order to initiate the mixing of the ingredients. Many prior art containers also require a high degree of manufacturing accuracy in order to work as intended. For example, in series production of plastic objects at industrial levels, it can be difficult to obtain consistently accurate results which would guarantee a constantly correct and desired connection between elements requiring a high degree of manufacturing accuracy, such as for a cutting element and a frangible seal.
Further, some prior art packages provide that the compartment stays in the mouth of the container even after a closure device or cap has been extracted and the separately stored materials have been mixed, which represents an obstacle which can interfere with the pouring-out or use of the mixture.
Further, some prior art packages would not work well if it is important that the contents of the container are kept dry. One prior art package describes a plug that would fit into a dispenser opening and prevent the dry contents of the compartment from mixing with the liquid contents of the container. However, the plug is located in the center of the bottle neck, and during the bottling process when liquid is poured into the container, the plug itself would get wet and would then contaminate the contents of the compartment.
Further, some prior art packages require too many additional parts which must be manufactured and assembled together which increases costs and time to manufacture.
Further, some prior art packages require a structure that requires very sturdy parts which may not be strong enough to keep the contents of the compartment dry. One prior art package describes a plug that would fit into a dispenser opening and prevent the contents of the compartment from mixing. The plug itself is supported by supporting attachments which extend radially from the sealing device to the interior wall of the container, which must hold the sealing device tightly in place. Unless the supporting attachments are very rigid, it will not be strong enough to hold the sealing device tightly in place to create a liquid impermeable seal.
Thus, there remains a need to have two-compartment packages which keep the components separate until just before use, which allow the two components to be easily mixed together, and which are simple to manufacture and assemble.